Yes, mom! I wanna study abroad

?Not here, mom! I want to go abroad for studies.? This simple boyish ambition is fast catching up as a serious city trend. On an average 500 city students go abroad every year for studies and the figures are rising by 30 per cent every year, claims a foreign studies advisor and adds, ?a majority of them are those brilliant ones who either fail to make it to prestigious engineering and medical courses or have a deep desire to excel.?

“Not here, mom! I want to go abroad for studies.” This simple boyish ambition is fast catching up as a serious city trend.

On an average 500 city students go abroad every year for studies and the figures are rising by 30 per cent every year, claims a foreign studies advisor and adds, “a majority of them are those brilliant ones who either fail to make it to prestigious engineering and medical courses or have a deep desire to excel.”

But, even that doesn’t explain why many parents want their children to go abroad at any cost.

“The reason is simple. If my child could not get into IIT, as a compensation he must go abroad and prove. I know that means a lot of money. But, self-respect and prestige of a family are greater than that,” says KM Srivastava, a parent.

But, this mindset has given rise to a booming consultancy business and which is growing faster than the aspirants. As of now, there are about half-a-dozen firms in the city which are exclusively engaged in the business.

S C Pandey of Advisor Education Academy says, “The students who come to us are determined and focused on their goal. All they require is guidance. A good guidance can help them realise their dreams better.”

About money matters, he says no doubt studies abroad are costly. But, there are economy options available, like Russia, China, Cyprus and Spain. “These days for medical studies China and Russia are drawing large crowds. Most importantly procuring visa for this is not a problem,’ he says. But, experts feel, the hot academic destinations still are USA (for Engineering, Management), UK (Management, law and Engineering) Australia (Hotel Management, Tourism courses, CPL (Commercial pilot license), Russia and China (Medicine), Switzerland and Austria (Hospitality management) .

Another consultant, Mamit Agarwal of Nodnat Educational services claims, “we act more like education counsellors. The process of admission is not that easy, he says it requires about 4-8 months’ wait.

Counselling is important for many reasons. “The student’s profile decides the options he must take—whether he should go for scholarship or can bear the cost of studies himself.” Of course, for most reputed universities, the tests like GRE/ GMAT/ TOELF are also important. And the visa counselling is also an important for the candidates. “In many cases, students don’t know what documentation can help them get the visa,” he says.

Gagan Gupta of TAMEC consultant claims students today are quite aware of the campuses through Internet. “They approach us for their choice of campuses.

We guide them accordingly,” he says and adds, “Information alone helps in these matters. From the city, students seeking admissions to PG courses are higher than those opting for UG courses and that makes counselling a specialised job.”

For them, UP had been an unexplored market and they see a lot of potential these days.

However, there are lots of parents who want their wards to go aboard and earn a degree not for job prospects but to widen the scope in the matrimonial market.